Spain’s famous — or possibly infamous — party town of Magaluf, a favourite of generations of British holidaymakers looking to let their hair down over the summer, has launched a poster campaign to target rowdy tourists. The town council wants to discourage so-called “alcohol tourism” warning visitors of the heavy fines they face for infractions including public nudity, fighting and drinking in the street.

€400 to €500 fines for nudity or public drinking

The posters, which carry messages in English and Spanish with the hashtag #havefunwithrespect, have been put up to “encourage citizenship”, the local council said. “Wear no clothes on the street. Penalty €400” and “Drink on the street. Penalty €500” read two of the signs.

Photo: Calvia Town Hall

Clamping down on anti-social behaviour

While the resort has long been popular with young British tourists, local authorities have recently been clamping down on anti-social behaviour after complaints by locals. In 2017, 785 complaints were filed for drinking on the street while 68 sanctions were doled out for people walking around in a state of nudity.

The wild reputation of the resort is “far from accurate”

But for Brett Haley, a DJ from Portsmouth who has been living and working in Magaluf, on the island of Mallorca, for five years, the wild reputation of the resort is far from accurate. “It’s a nice place and some of the pictures are quite false and very dated,” he told the i, adding that he didn’t see the need for the new poster campaign in the town.

Photo: Calvia Town Hall

Have a good time with your friends

Mr Haley, who does not know of anyone who has been fined under the town’s new restrictions, described Magaluf as “an amazing place that more people really need to see with their own eyes”.He added: “Just come out and have a good time with your friends, there’s no need to be rowdy when there’s so much to do out here – there’s not really any need for anything bad to happen.”

“Make sure you think before you act”

A British Embassy spokesman said that it would advise British people travelling to Spain this summer to “respect local laws and customs” and “make sure you think before you act; have a good time – but don’t take things so far that you end up in trouble, such as being arrested or assaulted or ending up in hospital.”

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